Worker Responsible for Fake Grenade Placed On Leave

Nomura Holdings Inc. (8604) said it placed an employee on administrative leave who was responsible for bringing an “inappropriate item” into its New York offices after police said a fake grenade was found in the building.

Parts of 2 World Financial Center were evacuated today after security reported finding a suspicious package that contained something that resembled an explosive, police said.

A UPS package that was scanned in the building’s underground mailroom appeared to contain a grenade, the New York Police Department said in an e-mailed statement. The bomb squad discovered that it was a grenade-like novelty item mounted on a wooden plaque with a sign “Complaint Department: Please Take a Number,” according to the statement.

The package was ordered by an unidentified employee who had bought it from an Oklahoma City-based company that specializes in U.S. Marine Corps novelties, police said. There was no crime, according to the NYPD statement.